The present disclosure generally relates to storage systems and more specifically, to a high density mobile storage system that includes a guidance system to selectively control the movement of the movable carriages to form an aisle between adjacent carriages.
Industrial and commercial rack and shelving systems are commonly used in storage facilities to store products until those products are shipped to a customer or to a retailer. Typically, the storage racks include multiple shelves that store loaded pallets of other types of items. The stored items can be removed from the storage racks when needed. The storage racks are spaced from one another in a manner to form relatively wide aisles to allow sufficient room for a forklift or other vehicle to remove items from the storage racks. Since each storage rack has a fixed position, each rack or shelving unit must have a dedicated aisle. Since an aisle is typically as wide as the rack itself, more than half of the floor space occupied by an industrial or commercial rack or shelving system may be occupied by aisles and is thus not usable for product storage.
Mobile shelving or rack systems, such as those available from Spacesaver Corporation, are designed to reduce the number of fixed aisles and, as a result, increase the amount of floor space used for product storage. Typically, a single aisle is allocated for the entire shelving or rack system. The position of the single aisle can be changed by moving the carriages supporting the individual racks or shelves along a track or rail that is mounted within the storage facility flooring, which is typically a concrete slab. During use, each of the individual racks can be moved either separately or as a multiple rack unit to create an aisle between desired storage racks. In typical mobile shelving or rack systems, rails or guides are mounted within the concrete floor in a parallel arrangement to guide the individual movable carriages during the movement process.
During the initial construction of a storage facility, the rails or guides are typically positioned in the floor as the floor is poured. In this manner, the rails can be set out in the desired location and can be embedded in the floor during the floor creation.
When a mobile shelving or rack system is desired in a pre-existing storage facility, the guide rails must be positioned within the floor in the desired location. This process requires cutting of the concrete floor and positioning the rails within the removed channels. Once the rails have been recessed into the floor, additional concrete material is poured along the rails to secure the rails in the desired location. Retrofitting existing storage facilities to include a mobile industrial rack system is thus both costly and time consuming.